President Obama hits GOP over equal pay bill

President Barack Obama dared Senate Republicans to support legislation aimed at doing more to help women gain equal footing in the workplace, arguing Tuesday that opposition would be yet another sign that the GOP is working against the economic interests of most Americans.

“This is about Republicans seemingly opposing any efforts to even the playing field for working families,” Obama said at the White House as he urged the Senate to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, which faces a vote on Wednesday, and signed two executive orders aimed at helping some women secure equal pay. “I don’t know why you would resist the idea that women should be paid the same as men and then deny that that’s not always happening out there.”

The president’s moves Tuesday fit squarely into the playbook he’s been executing this year: using executive orders in lieu of congressional action, arguing that Republican opposition shows just how out-of-touch they are with the needs of working Americans.

“Equal pay for equal work. It’s not that complicated,” Obama said. But Republicans are arguing that Obama is needlessly muddying the waters on the issue in the interest of helping Democrats in the midterm elections.

In a memo Tuesday, spokespeople from three major Republican groups — the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Campaign Committee and the National Republican Senatorial Committee — charged that the return of the Paycheck Fairness Act, which was previously blocked by the Senate GOP, is “a desperate political ploy” meant to play up voters’ concerns that Republicans are engaged in a “war on women.”

“On this Equal Pay Day, I urge us to stop politicizing women,” House Republican Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rogers (R-Wash.) said Tuesday. “Let’s start focusing on policies that are actually going to help women and everyone in this country have a better life. Let’s focus on policies that are actually going to move forward on a jobs plan — that will create a higher paycheck, more opportunities, and that opportunity for a better life.”

While focused on politically pressuring the GOP, Obama also acknowledged some of the higher costs that come with being a woman, particularly when it comes to dry cleaning. “I don’t know why it costs more for Michelle’s blouse than for my shirt,” he said.